This year, for me, it was a very good race, and I managed to hang on to run a PR--personal record--for my half marathon distance. Training race or target race, it's usually worth some time to reflect on the experience and what I learned from it. (The difference being that if it's a training race, there's still time to take action in training before the target race!)
1) It's a little intimidating to think that what I'm about to do, if I actually race it, might actually hurt. Accept it. (If it does, there are effective ways to deal with it.)
2) No matter where in the lineup I start, I still must allow myself to be passed at the beginning by those either faster or more foolish than me. This is nothing new to me--the best piece of running advice I got as a beginner runner was to "not go out too fast". I'm good at holding back, but knew that, in this race, I'd have to pay special attention to that, due to where I toed the line. (I did, and my Garmin showed it: my first two miles were my slowest.)
3) Don't be afraid to take a chance with the pace, but keep in mind that I still have to "have some left" for the rest of the race. That was a little scary at times, but I found that if I could just settle in at the new, faster pace, it was doable. (Not "easy", but doable.)
4) There will still be rough patches, but keep going! There was a stretch where I wondered if I was going to fall off my pace significantly, but I remembered that an elite runner once mentioned to keep going through the rough patches--that they'll pass. I focused on keeping my turnover going and it did pass in just a few minutes. (What did Winston Churchill say? "When you're going through hell, keep going". Sounds like good running advice to me!)
5) Focus, focus, focus on form when fatigue sets in. There were a few times late in the race where I felt like my form was breaking down a bit. I don't necessarily think that it was, but even wondering about it brought my focus back to keeping good form going (perhaps a bonus since it took my mind off the fatigue). This is something I can actively work on in the remaining training before my target marathon, by continuing to strengthen my core and pay special attention to my form when I get fatigued, especially during speedwork.
It was a fun day for me, in part because I enjoy challenging myself. We each may have different goals for our races, yet when it comes down to it, there's nothing quite like meeting our goal--whether it's to finish the race, to run our marathon pace successfully, to set a PR, or to win something. The beauty of it is that we can all take away something from our races no matter what our goal is, and be successful.
So...what's your takeaway from your last race?
